


The Arrival of Superman

by TheBibliophile2718 (LoveReading314)



Category: Superman - All Media Types, Superman - Fandom, 슈퍼맨이 돌아왔다 | The Return of Superman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Babies, Children, charity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28605621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveReading314/pseuds/TheBibliophile2718
Summary: After 7 years, KBS has decided to celebrate the anniversary of The Return of Superman by holding a public event with both the current families of the show and some former ones. Fans of the show are allowed to come and bring their own children to enjoy the playgrounds, food stalls, and merchandise. But that's not all, they're joined by a very special guest!(Cross-posted to fanfiction.net & asianfanfics.com)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	The Arrival of Superman

It was the best weather for a celebration. A warm spring morning, the few puffy clouds in the sky shared the wide blue dome with the sun rather than block its light. The slight breeze made the temperature comfortable and refreshing.

That wasn’t a coincidence. The event planners had scrutinized weather forecasts and found that on September 21st the southeastern provinces of South Korea would receive a near-certain string of sunny days.

It was perfect. It _had_ to be perfect for this. The biggest event in South Korea of the year, perhaps even the decade.

Admittedly, it was strange to have such high expectations of the 7th anniversary of a TV show, even one as popular as _The Return of Superman_. That didn’t change the fact that they were right.

Normally, the crew just ran a few special episodes for an anniversary. The children would all come together and go to some interesting location. They and the parents would enjoy themselves as the cameramen filmed the heartwarming or entertaining scenes to be edited into the episodes.

This year was different. At the request of the showrunners, the parents had brought their children to Children’s Grand Park in Seoul. In one of its large fields, concession stands and a large stage had been set up. The price of entry was modest and a sizable crowd had already been waiting before the start time of ten a.m.

Children enjoyed themselves in the play areas set up around the park while the adults relaxed and chatted at the tables. They were in the perfect position for the vendors to sell their stock. The food stands soon became busy providing _tteokbokki_ , _kimbap,_ meat skewers, or another of the dozen filling dishes available. With so many children around, plenty of snacks and candy were popular. _Dalgona_ , _hotteok_ , cotton candy. The weather was warm enough to even eat ice cream comfortably.

Merchandise was selling well too. The design for the shirts had changed this year, the Superman logo was on the center of the chest while the title of the show ran along the bottom. From the stage it was easy to spot the distinctive blue shirts of the few who’d bought the new shirts and already tried them on.

The children of the show scampered back and forth from the stage to the large special play area right by it. The children of the attendees could go in too, but only a limited number for a set time.

On the stage, Choo Sunghoon patted another parent on the back. “Mr. Song, it’s been too long! Your boys have grown up well.”

Song Ilgook smiled and glanced at his eight-year-old triplets in the playground. “Thank you. Your daughter has grown to be a wonderful young girl as well.”

“I’m surprised you showed up, Song,” Lee Hwijae said. “I thought you wanted to keep your kids away from the publicity of the show.”

“We did, but we decided to make an exception just this once after the president of KBS called and promised that he’d pay us for any expenses if we were dissatisfied,” Ilgook held his wife’s hand. “Now that we’re here though, I don’t think he’ll need to. I should have visited you all earlier.”

Lee Donggook had been listening in and asked. “Mr. Song, the president of KBS called you? Do you know what the surprise they’re planning is?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m in the dark same as everyone else.”

“Ah. Well it must be a big one to require so much equipment.” Donggook gestured to the vans in the field and the tables with computers and audio equipment to support the numerous cameramen in the crowd.

“There really are a lot of cameras, aren’t there?” Sunghoon said. “I just thought I wasn’t used to them after years away from the show.”

“Excuse me.” Nathan Kim, the Korean-American host of the event, interrupted the numerous conversations between the parents. “Can you gather your kids on the stage? It’s time for the most important part of the event.”

After some pleading, promises, and scolding which was a requirement for dealing with young children, the members of the show who’d been invited and their parents all gathered on stage. The crowd had quieted down too as an announcement had gone out.

“Hello everyone, and thank you all for coming!” Nathan said. Large screens on either side of the stage provided clear images of the young man for even the furthest regions of the crowd. Amplifiers also carried his voice throughout the field.

“It’s wonderful that so many fans have gathered here to celebrate _The Return of Superman_ , and so is the chance to reunite the families of the show both new and old. For seven years, we’ve been showing the trials fathers go through taking care of their children alone while giving the mothers some well-deserved rest. The siblings fought, made up, and learned to respect and love each other. We saw each child encounter many new stages of growth. Sometimes it was easy, other times difficult, but they always passed through it. Every three weeks, we were privileged enough to share a snapshot of their lives and we hope to do so for years to come.

“As important as today’s anniversary is, I’m certain you will remember it as so much more. This is because . . . hmm.”

Nathan turned a puzzled gaze up to the sky. He shaded his eyes with a hand. “Strange. What is that?”

The crowd turned their eyes up and searched for what he meant. At first only a few people saw it, a dot up in the sky. Was it a balloon which had gotten loose?

No, the dot was getting bigger. As the seconds passed, the crowd could make out more details. First its color: red and blue. Then its shape, a . . .

“A bird? A plane?” Nathan asked, his lips curling up in anticipation.

It was a man! A man descending through the air as casually as if he were going down an elevator, although far more quickly. His red cape billowed as it followed his descent, and the concert screens displayed the cameras’ zoomed-in view of the most famous man in the world. His black hair had a spit-curl, his skintight suit emphasized his muscular physique, and his handsome face showed a kind smile.

Already the crowd had gone wild. Shouts, gasps, phones out to record. Some tried to surge forward to the stage, but the planners had expected as much and readied barriers and security guards to stop them.

Once he landed in front of Nathan, the announcement was made “It’s Superman! Superman has arrived!” Even with the microphone, Nathan had to shout to be heard.

It took a few minutes for the crowd to settle down, and Nathan switched to English. The screens would show subtitles translating his and Superman’s words. Since Nathan was following a script, the delay for his lines should be short.

Nathan kept his smile steady. Superman looked even bigger in person, but Nathan couldn’t mess this opportunity up. He’d worked hard to prove that he could host this event. Despite what some of his coworkers said, it took a lot more than just being a native English speaker and having a photogenic face.

“Hello Superman, I’m Nathan Kim. What’s brought you here today?” Nathan handed him a microphone so he could answer.

Superman accepted it. “Hello, Mr. Kim. The reason I’m here today is to participate in a charity event.”

“That’s right, I remember now. Do you mind if I explain it to everyone?”

“Go right ahead.”

Nathan addressed the crowd in Korean. “Thanks to Superman’s generosity, this year’s anniversary of the show will double as a charity event streamed live worldwide. The money donated from the viewers will go to a number of worthy causes both here in South Korea and abroad. Our target is an ambitious 100 billion won (roughly $90 million), but certainly achievable. In order to raise the money, we have riveting challenges prepared.”

The screens showed a table. In the first column were amounts of currency in won and the second was full of question marks except for the top right box.

“Since Superman will stay for four hours, we need to earn 25 billion won per hour. If we do manage to earn that much, then after each hour he will do whatever is written in the table. As you can see, the first task is to eat a plate of _hong-uh_. Not easy even for a native Korean, but certainly easy for a Superman, right? Donate and you’ll get to see.”

In the stream, links appeared describing _hong-uh._ It was fermented fish, skate specifically, and had a characteristic ammonia-like odor said to be reminiscent of an outhouse.

Nathan faced Superman. “Would you like to meet the families now, sir?”

“I would. In fact, we should probably hurry before that young man there explodes from excitement,” Superman said, referring to six-year-old Sian who’d started jumping up and down from the moment he’d arrived.

First, Superman was introduced to the twins Seoeon and Seojun and their parents.

“Hi there.” Superman gave them a small wave.

“Wow, it’s really Superman!” Seoeon ran up and gazed up at him in awe.

“Can you fly, like _whoosh_ in the sky again?” Seojun asked and did the famous flying pose with his fist up in the air.

Nathan translated for them, and Superman answered, “I’ll fly more later, Seojun.”

“Superman, it’s an honor to meet you.” Hwijae, the twins’ father, bowed and offered his hand.

To their surprise, Superman also politely lowered his head. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Mr. and Mrs. Lee.” He shook both the parents’ hands. When they asked for his autograph, he picked up a pen and his hand blurred across four slips of paper. In a split second, he had drawn his symbol, written his signature, and added short messages for each of them.

Superman moved on to the other families. The ones who could speak English well were fortunate enough to speak directly to him for a good while longer. Almost nine years old, Choo Sarang was nervous at first, but worked up the courage to shake his hand and say that she and her dad were big fans. Park Jooho, his wife, and five-year old daughter Naeun expressed their excitement while three-year-old Gunhoo waited with his younger brother Jinwoo. Sam Hammington thanked Superman for saving a friend in Australia a few years back as his two sons Ben and William played with his cape. Everyone wanted an autograph and a picture, and Superman was happy to oblige.

Unfortunately, Nathan cut their fun short when he needed to bring Superman away for his scheduled interview.

Superman chuckled at their disappointment. “Don’t worry everyone, I’ll still be here for a few more hours.”

Nathan took a seat at the front of the stage. Superman ‘sat’ by crossing his legs and hovering a few feet above the ground so his eyes were level with Nathan.

Superman would have been preferred to stand or sit in a chair instead of flaunting his flight, but he’d been requested to do it and it was an image likely to trend on social media over the next few hours and bring in more donators. When he heard the crowd’s reaction, he was even more certain it would work. Even Nathan’s eyes had widened a bit when he Superman began floating right in front of him, and he’d known about it beforehand.

“That’s a nice seat you have there, Superman,” Nathan joked.

“Thank you, but it’s my very own private chair. No one else is allowed to sit in it.”

Nathan chuckled. Not that funny of a joke, but Superman was used to people flattering him.

“Well, let’s move on to more interesting topics besides your furniture,” Nathan said. “Superman, how familiar are you with the show _The Return of Superman_? Do you like the show?”

“Honestly, I’d never heard of it before KBS reached out to some friends of mine about this event. However, I’ve seen some portions of the show to familiarize myself with it. I’ve found it touching and funny, and I’m glad fathers were able to find strength by thinking of themselves as Supermen as they raised their children.” Superman’s smile took on a wistful tinge. “It reminded me of how I respect and admire my own fathers highly. I’m forever grateful to my biological father who saved me from my doomed homeworld and gave me a chance to have an amazing life here on Earth. My adoptive father raised me in a loving environment with my mother and taught me valuable lessons about truth and justice. If it weren’t for him, I might not have ever become Superman.”

Nathan needed a pause before moving on to the next question. Normally the questions and answers for celebrity interviews were decided beforehand, but Superman’s answers had come from the heart. For a brief moment Nathan almost acted on an impulse to call his dad and thank him.

Nathan cleared his throat. “S-so Superman. Can I ask what you think of South Korea?”

“It’s certainly a beautiful country. I visited once, years before anyone called me Superman. I saw the common tourist sites such as the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Huwon Secret Garden, and Hallasan National Park. A lot of the food was new to me and delicious, and I enjoyed learning about the culture and history.”

Superman grinned as he saw members of the crowd nodding their heads and shining with pride. Patriotism was a feeling he understood well.

“Alright, this is the last question, sir. How would you describe yourself in five words?”

Superman took a few seconds to think. “Someone who’d like to help.”

“A fitting answer. Now, that’s all for the interview and just in time too. I believe the mothers are just about done double-checking their make-up.”

Nathan and Superman turned to see the majority of the mothers stuff their hand mirrors and make-up products in their bags. The reaction got a good-hearted laugh from the crowd, and a few of the women blushed at being caught.

“We still have some time until your first challenge, sir,” Nathan said. “How would you like to spend it?”

“I’m willing to go into the playgrounds and give the kids some fun. Although I have to set some ground rules first. Parents and children who’d like to speak or play with me have to treat each other politely. No crowding each other out or other rude behavior.”

“Of course, Superman.”

“Great.” Superman faced to the families on the stage. “I’ll be at the playground right by the stage until the challenge. Feel free to come with.”

At that, he flew over to the colorful playground. As expected, the children ran over for the chance to play with Superman. The adults showed more restraint, but they followed along at a brisk pace.

The children pelted him with requests the moment they arrived.

“Superman, Superman, fly for us like this!” Five-year-old Seungjae shared Seoeon’s enthusiasm for the classic flight pose.

“I want to see you blow, like _bwooosh_!” Haoh, not even three years old, ran up and said.

“Can you throw some cars?”

“I want to see your laser eyes!”

Superman took the time to indulge them, although he refrained from acting out their more dangerous requests. He flew around the playground in the famous pose with his fist outstretched, he let out a blast of super-breath and knocked the empty swings around, and he gladly let them feel his cape.

A few of the older children looked on, embarrassed by their younger siblings’ behavior. The thirteen-year-old twins Jae si and Jae ah knew some English and apologized to Superman, although he told them he didn’t mind at all that their younger sisters and brother were running around him and flapping his cape.

“Everyone, would you like to play tag? I’ll be it.” Superman said. It would be complete chaos if every child kept asking him for something different.

Once it was translated to Korean, all the kids quickly agreed. Superman gave them a few seconds, then he started on his chase flying a few feet above the ground with his body pointing horizontally.

It was a simple game which involved all the children except for the infants Hayoung and Jinwoo. All he had to do was approach a group of them, and they’d all run away screaming and giggling. He gave them a fighting chance, of course, always keeping his speed the same as their short legs could carry them, but sometimes they cornered themselves so he had no choice but to make them ‘it’.

Of course he made sure that he would soon become ‘it’ again if a child ran after him. He also had to make sure he chased everyone equally, and often he moved on from a chase to go to someone who’d mistakenly thought they were safe and had stood by watching him chase another group.

Ten minutes before the challenge, Nathan announced a reminder to the viewers that they still had a few billion won to go. Superman sped up a bit, made six-year-old Yeonwoo ‘it’ by tapping him on the shoulder, and flew to the stage to ask for more donations.

When he returned to the playground, he decided to talk with the parents this time and allow the kids to have fun by themselves. By unspoken agreement, the main role of translation fell to Sam.

“You all have terrific children,” Superman told the parents once he walked over to the corner of the playground where they waited. He took a seat at one of the empty tables.

“Thank you very much,” Kyungwan said in English with a smile. While he wasn’t fluent in English, he knew some phrases like most Koreans.

Lee Soojin, Donggook’s wife, added. “Really, thank you. We’ll remember this day for the rest of our lives.”

“So will I,” Superman said. “Usually whenever I interact and speak with children the adults nearby try to catch my attention.”

“Well if you’d like to see our Jam Jam again after the event ends, we’d be sure not to get in the way,” Heejoon said.

“Oh, us too,” Yanglim said. “I’d love it if you could help me scold my Seungjae from time to time. He’s so stubborn sometimes and he doesn’t listen to either me or his dad.”

“Yeah, he certainly seemed difficult to raise to me after I saw him pour water on his dad’s head.”

Jiyong, the victim of the water dunking, broke into laughter. “Oh Superman, you saw that?”

Superman nodded. “Seungjae seems very empathetic though, I’m sure it’s well worth it even though he can be hard to handle.”

“No question.”

“By the way Superman, how much of the show have you seen?” Anna asked in fluent English.

“Mostly just iconic moments and some scenes which gave me an idea of the nicknames the show gives the cast. I’ve seen your daughter Naeun cry when her father left for a soccer match and a fight between her and your older son. I’m aware of Mr. Donggook’s reputation as a prankster, Bentley and Sarang being known for their eating, and Haoh of having a remarkable memory and vocabulary for his age.”

Soyul laughed, recalling some of the costumes she’d worn and how she’d acted in front her daughter. “Oh no, it’s so embarrassing thinking about what you might have seen us do on the show.” The widespread chuckles showed that it was a common sentiment among the parents.

“Embarrassing maybe, but often funny and admirable as well,” Superman said. “It wouldn’t be wrong to say I’ve definitely seen some super patience and super sacrifice from you all.”

Nathan’s announcement interrupted any reply. “Amazing! We’ve gotten 27,294,384,800 won and exceeded our one hour goal by over 2 billion won!”

“Looks like that’s my cue,” Superman said and flew off to the stage.

Once he landed, Nathan waved at some employees to wheel over a cart with a covered silver platter. “Ah Superman, you’re just in time to perform your challenge. As promised, you’ll eat a plate of hong-uh without using your super speed.”

“I’ll definitely try at least,” Superman said. He took off the cover to reveal a seemingly benign slices of raw pink fish. Within moments his face wrinkled.

“Oh my!” Nathan’s response was less restrained and only slightly exaggerated. He faced away and held his nose.

“Well as much as I’d like to inhale this plate in a split second, I should try to give the people their money’s worth,” Superman said.

“Very admirable of you, sir.” Nathan’s voice had taken on a nasal tone after he’d pinched his nose. “While I’m still catching whiffs of it, the viewers certainly can’t. Can you please describe the smell for us?”

“I could, but I seriously question whether I should. A promise is a promise though, so here goes. I was told it smells like an outhouse, and I have to say that’s a regrettably apt description. I’ve been in situations with the same ammonia odor, but those tend to be emergencies in chemical factories. I’d very much prefer not to associate it with food.”

Superman picked up the chopsticks and ate one slice. He chewed a few times, then swallowed. “I never thought I would say that I knew what a dirty toilet tastes like. With this dish, I think that I’m now justified making the claim.”

Laughter rushed through the crowd and the viewers as they saw Superman’s grimace. With determination, he kept eating piece after piece.

Once he got to the fourth he said, “You know, even without super-speed there are ways for me to make this faster.” He took multiple pieces in his mouth and swallowed them whole. “One benefit of having super muscles is that I don’t choke easily. My throat will squeeze any food down and send it on a nice trip to my stomach.”

“Can you believe it everyone? Superman is bending the rules.”

“I’m happy to make an exception in this case.”

“As am I, please eat it as quickly as you can.” Nathan was about to gag just by being near it.

Superman could have stuffed all the pieces in his mouth, but instead he methodically went piece by piece. People from all over the world had donated millions of dollars to see him do this. While he’d refrain from taking more time chewing, he’d play up some of his genuine distaste for this dish.

When he got to the second to last piece he threw it up in the air with the chopsticks. His eyes glowed a bright red and the pink slice turned into a brick of charred fish.

Superman caught it with a deft maneuver of his chopsticks and swallowed it. “Mmm, honestly this is much better than raw. I would have liked to do that from the first piece, although it probably wouldn’t have been as fun for the viewers.”

He held up the last piece and swallowed it as the crowd clapped.

While there were still a few traces of the nauseating odor in the air, Nathan could breathe freely again. “Impressive. Now please, someone take this cart away.”

“I hope the next challenge is more palatable,” Superman said as he offered the cart to an approaching employee.

“I’m certain it is. Let’s see why the viewers should raise the donations to 50 billion.” Nathan pointed at the screen. With some smooth and colorful animation, the question mark in the second challenge disappeared. “If we reach our goal in the next hour, Superman will wear this costume for twenty minutes and fly around.”

The screen showed an image of an inflatable eagle costume. Superman grinned, it would look silly, but what did it matter if it was all for a good cause and to have some fun?

Nathan gave a small chuckle before continuing. “Until then Superman will spend his time handing out capes and freely interacting with the fans who’ve gathered here today. If you’d like a cape, please gather in front of the stage in an orderly line.”

Superman flew down to a spot where a table with boxes full of capes with his emblem had been prepared. Since there were so many people, he could only exchange a few sentences with each person before moving on to the next one. However, he was still able to personally tie the capes on both the children and parents who wanted one. In a flash his hands would wrap the cape around their shoulders.

When it was one young boy’s turn he excitedly asked “Will it give me superpowers like you?”

Superman chuckled. “No. This cape is for you to have fun with, but don’t do anything dangerous. Otherwise I’m going to have to take it back.”

Many of the children had been upset that they could only talk to Superman for a little while, but once he was finished handing out capes he flew over to the playgrounds. From the air, the heads of the children were trailed by small flapping red capes.

It didn’t take a lot to please them. He just had to hover nearby and every once in a while chase after them or have them chase him. Then dozens of children would run around laughing and playing. Superman even spotted one girl running along with an action figure of him and humored her by following the flight maneuvers she made the figure go through. The sheer glee on her face when she realized was a priceless treasure.

Unfortunately, there were a few incidents where the children got rowdy with each other. Some kids pushed each other to get closer to him, some kids made fun of others to discourage them from playing with him. Not common behavior, but it occurred enough for him to get involved. Mostly he gave them a short warning to behave and got their parents’ attention, but twice he immediately moved on to a different playground.

They reached the target for the second hour, this time exceeding by over 3 billion won. The next challenge was, as Nathan put it, a treat. If they reached 75 billion won, then Superman would sing karaoke.

“How’s your singing voice, Superman?”

“Nothing to brag about, I assure you. In fact, if it weren’t for what I have to do now, I’d be concerned about embarrassing myself.”

Superman then took the provided costume and slipped into it in a blur of motion. The timer for twenty minutes started counting down.

“Wow.” Nathan was actually a bit surprised. “Somehow you’re able to pull that costume off.”

Even though the only parts of his body visible were his face and parts of his arms, the eye was drawn to the famous dignified expression rather than the cartoonish bird head or big poofy talons.

To fix that, Superman took to the air while flapping his wings. “Hello everyone. Up in the sky, is it a bird, you ask? Why yes, yes it is.”

Hearty laughter spread through the crowd and the viewers watching online. He soared around, pretending to use his wings to propel himself and glide over the grass. When he headed to the playground, the children loved it. This time they started poking and squeezing the inflatable costume and scurrying around him.

“Hey Superman, can I get a picture with you in that?” One of the fathers asked with the help of a translator.

Superman put on a stern face. “Sir, do you honestly think I’d want to take pictures looking like this?”

He waited until his words were translated. The man rushed to apologize but Superman smiled and said, “Of course you can take a picture with me.” He flapped up and descended like a feather right by him. “When I started wearing a cape I accepted that sometimes I’d look silly.”

That set off a cascade of people who wanted to take a picture of him in the costume with their children. Each picture was practically guaranteed to induce laughter. Even Superman couldn’t make his classic poses look anything but hilarious in the costume, fist up to fly, hands on his hips, or on one knee for one of his landing poses. When the time was up, Superman even spent an extra minute or so letting a few more families and the members of the cast take pictures.

Finally, the bird costume was set aside and Superman returned to his red and blue uniform.

Nathan said, “Now Superman, I think it’s time for you to be introduced to some quality Korean fare. Let us make it up to you after the _hong-uh._ Would you like to go to the stalls and try some delicious Korean food?”

“Certainly.”

This time, the cast followed behind Nathan and Superman as they walked around the stalls. Parents and children were allowed to approach and speak to Superman if they wanted, but they were firmly asked to move aside if they blocked their progress. The security for the cast was stricter, fans had to keep at least ten feet back.

The lines at the stalls dispersed when the pair approached. Superman knew it was unfair that they had to give up their place in line for him, but it would take too long otherwise and people usually let him pass anyway.

The first stall served _tteokbokki_ , stir-fried rice cakes. Superman admitted that he’d eaten them before, but only the spicy variety. The workers also provided a type with beef that was slightly sweet. While it was good, Superman told them he preferred the spicy one.

They urged him to try a number of foods. Fishcake soup, _kimbap,_ dumplings with either vegetable, chicken, pork, or beef fillings, a baked pastry filled with sweet red bean paste. He gave them his honest opinion of them, they were all delicious. When he said that he’d consider making some dishes regular parts of his diet, he received a response he’d seen dozens of times before. Whether it was the pies in American diners, the curries in Indian, or the _arepas_ in South America, praising a nation’s food always filled their people with well-earned pride.

As he was eating, four-year-old William made a comment in English. “Superman, if you eat so much you get fat.” His mild accent indicated that he was more comfortable with Korean than English.

“William, you can’t say that! It’s rude.” His mother Yumi reprimanded him.

“It’s alright,” Superman said. “I _have_ eaten quite a lot, haven’t I? But another perk of being Superman is that I don’t get fat.”

“Is that another superpower of yours?” Sam asked. “You have so many it’s hard to keep track sometimes.”

“Well, it could be considered an aspect of my invulnerability. My body breaks down any foreign substances and keeps me in optimal health, which is why poisons and chemical weapons don’t affect me. The calories from the food are negligible compared to what I get from sunlight, and no amount of sugar or fat will change my physique.”

“Hah, getting to eat whatever you want. If I had to pick just one of your powers for myself, I think I’d want that the most.”

At that moment, Donggook saw his seven-year-old twin daughters holding ice cream cones. “Seola, Sua, where’d you get that ice cream from?”

“Over there.” Sua pointed at a stall.

“How’d you pay for it?”

“They gave it to us for free when we said it was for Superman,” Seola answered.

“You two . . . you think it’s okay to lie and take advantage of Superman’s visit like that?”

“We didn’t lie.” Sua defended herself. She pulled her ice cream away protectively. “We did want to give the ice cream to Superman. We were going to have him try both flavors, but they looked too good so we changed our minds.”

Superman had noticed the situation between the twin girls and their parents. Once the situation was explained to him, his eyes twinkled in amusement and he told them he didn’t mind. He made note of the stall so he could pay them later.

“Um, Superman, could you come up on stage?” Nathan asked. “The donations aren’t doing as well as we thought they would.”

“Of course.” Superman flew to the stage and added some flair to the fluttering of his cape. “I see, only 73 billion won so far. Remember everyone, I’m only going to sing if we hit 75 billion in the next five minutes.”

A surge of donations brought them to 74.5 billion with two minutes to spare. There was a slow trickle of donations after that. 74.6. 74.7. 74.8. In fact it was almost as if the viewers were intentionally holding the audience in suspense.

With 20 seconds to spare they hit the 75 billion mark. The crowd exploded in cheers. It had been a harrowing wait.

“Whew, that was a close call,” Nathan said.

“Yes,” Superman answered. “I hope this time we have a bigger margin of safety with our final goal.”

“Hmm, I think that in large part it will depend on the next challenge. What could motivate our viewers to keep giving?” Nathan gestured to the concert screen and the final challenge was revealed:

Out of those who donate 10,000 won or more in the next hour, Superman will visit a random ten viewers.

“Wow, what a deal!” Nathan said. “The chances are small, but getting to meet you just for nine or so dollars must be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Actually, there may other charity events in the future where they may get to see and talk to me in person. I hope they’ll be just as generous then as they are now.”

A TV and karaoke machine were wheeled on stage, and by that point the families had all come up as well. The first song Superman was going to sing had already been chosen, _The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts_ by Sufjan Stevens which had been written just a couple years after Superman’s debut.

There were other microphones too. Superman asked if any of the parents would like to sing with him, but most of them felt they didn’t know English well enough to sing with him and those who did still felt they shouldn’t try accompanying his singing.

So he sang alone. English and Korean lyrics displayed on the concert screens and the stream sent translations in other languages as well.

_“Trouble falls in my home_

_Troubled man, troubled stone_

_turn a mountain of lies_

_turn a card for my life_

_Man of Steel, Man of Heart”_

He sang in baritone range. Those in the crowd with musical talent recognized him as an above average singer, but certainly not superhumanly talented as some had expected despite his earlier admission.

The crowd had gone silent as he sang. Even the children waited and listened with little fuss. Many nodded their heads along to the rhythm.

When he got to the lyrics about how only a steel man could be a lover, he gave the crowd a playful wink. Millions of women and some men gasped as it was broadcasted. The silence of the crowd was broken by squeals here and there, and hands flew to racing hearts.

Superman finished and the crowd clapped and shouted encouragement. He bowed in thanks and turned back to the families.

“Does anyone have any requests for the next song?” he asked.

“Oh! Oh! Me Superman, I do!” Yeonwoo came up and Superman handed him the remote for the karaoke machine.

As a BTS fan, Yeonwoo chose the song _Fire_. The karaoke machine had a kid-friendly version of the song, since the original had references to drinking and lighting things on fire.

Superman hung back and sang any English lyrics that came up. Meanwhile, Yeonwoo excitedly danced to the song. The other kids came up too, Ben and William had the same enthusiasm as Yeonwoo since they were also BTS fans. A few took the spare microphones and the rest jumped around chaotically since they didn’t know the choreography as well.

Once the song ended, Park Naeun suggested _Let it Go._ The other young girls latched on to the song to the point that even Superman would have been hard-pressed to deny them, not that he tried. He selected it for them and handed out the microphones.

Both boys and girls started to dance along. Naeun and Jam Jam spun around and waved their arms. Superman puffed out a couple of discreet breaths.

“Wow!” Jam Jam said and reached for the streak of ice on the floor by her.

“Mommy! Daddy! Look, I’m like Elsa!” Naeun turned to her parents in wonder.

The other kids forgot about the song. They ran up and touched the ice or stared in amazement.

“Keep singing, maybe you can do it again,” Superman encouraged them.

Superman continued to time his freeze breath to make ice when they weren’t looking. The older kids figured out what he was doing, but for the younger ones it was magical. In the middle of September, the children enjoyed a miniature winter wonderland.

He didn’t have much control over how the ice formed, but he could shape it easily with his heat vision. The kids gawked at the sudden appearance of a castle the same size as them. Making snow was harder, but with some water bottles and his hands to form a chamber Superman blew the water into a fine mist and then froze it to make tiny white flakes fall to the ground. It made for a powdery snow. Not ideal for snowballs or snowmen, but certainly doable as the Hammington brothers showed by throwing clumps of snow at each other. The others soon joined in.

He continued letting them play even after the song ended. Although the ice couldn’t last long with the warm weather melting the snow the kids were so reluctant to stop playing that the parents needed Superman to step in before they drenched themselves.

The employees found towels to dry the kids off and there were hot soups from the stalls for them to heat themselves up. Superman dried off the stage with his eyes, and the melting wonderland went up into the air as vapor.

When he was finished, he accepted a microphone and addressed the cameras.

“Everyone, I know it’s been a lot of fun today, but I’m going to take some time to discuss the motivation behind holding this event. This anniversary of the TV show _The Return of Superman_ is being broadcast worldwide to raise money for those in need. Since the show focuses on children, I thought it was appropriate that the money primarily go to those children who are less fortunate.

“There are so many children who lack basic needs in the world. In the most extreme cases, they suffer from starvation or disease and are unable to escape from these horrors. In other cases they’re used and victimized with no authorities they can turn to for help. Or perhaps if they do go to the authorities, all they do is turn a blind eye or even worse profit off of the suffering of its citizens.

“Even as a Superman there is only so much I can do. I can transport food and medicine, I can break apart trafficking rings and other exploitative organizations. I could even tear down unjust governments although I am limited by what I shouldn’t do. These things are not enough to bring permanent change to these regions, not alone. In order to fix these issues, people need to come together. The money from this event will bring an enormous amount of aid, and that’s great. However, don’t think giving money is all that you should do. I don’t ask that you go all over the world helping the less fortunate, although I certainly encourage it if you can. Learn about the issues, learn about the good you can bring, and start with your own communities and branch out.”

Superman addressed the viewers for a while longer. He offered personal testimonies of children he’d met who deserved the chance to grow, learn, and reach their full potential. The exact details of how the money would be distributed were available in the link showed on the stream.

Money came in at a steady pace, and they hit the 100 billion won mark ten minutes before the end of the event.

“And we’ve reached the goal. Thank you all. Thank you very much.” Superman bowed to the cameras.

“That was a fantastic speech, Superman.” Nathan said. By sheer force of will he’d held back the tears in his eyes. Others in the crowd hadn’t succeeded and a few of the parents had dabbed at their eyes too.

“I’m glad. I put a lot of effort into it.”

“It certainly showed, sir. Before you leave, can we share one last moment of fun with you to end the event?”

“Sure.”

Nathan worked up a cheerful expression. “Alright everyone, before he leaves Superman will do a tug of war with the fathers of the show.”

In the middle of the field, a long rope was set up with lines in the grass. If the spot in the rope with the bandana crossed a line, that side would win. Against the lone Superman were ten opposing fathers.

Gary joined the line howling with laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Jooho asked.

“I asked my son to wish me luck and he said ‘Why, Superman’s going to win?’,” Gary explained.

Kyungwan shook his head. “My Yeonwoo said pretty much the same thing. Don’t the kids believe in their dads anymore?”

“You can’t fool the kids when it comes to Superman,” Sunghoon said. “Whatever happens, I just hope Superman makes us look cool.”

“Is everyone ready?” The referee asked.

“Ready!” The fathers shouted in unison.

“Ready,” Superman answered calmly.

“3. 2. 1. Go!”

The rope went taut. The fathers’ muscles strained and bulged with effort, but Superman didn’t even move. He held the rope with one hand and smiled.

With slow, deliberate steps backwaards Superman pulled the rope to his side. The bandana tied to it approached the line.

The crowd swelled with cheers and yells. The majority were on the fathers’ side, the underdogs in this match. The mothers alternated between shrill applause and urging their children to support their dads.

Just then, Superman’s steady progress came to a halt. Both sides were evenly matched. Superman’s brow furrowed and he put on a convincing expression of confusion. His other hand shot up to grip the rope and he grit his teeth.

The rope moved in the opposite direction, the bandana advanced to the fathers’ side. Superman’s feet dug into the ground and left trails of exposed brown dirt.

Again, the rope came to a halt. This time the fathers were inches from victory. Superman pulled, but even with all his super-strength the effort looked to be in vain.

“Whoa!” Superman said. He whipped through the air and sailed over the crowd. When he hit the ground, he skid across it and kicked up dirt and clumps of grass for a good fifteen feet before coming to a stop.

He got up, patted the dirt off himself and addressed the speechless crowd. “Darn, I almost had it.”

The referee gathered his wits and declared “The fathers win!”

Superman walked up to the fathers and shook their hands. “Good match,” he told them. “That was definitely the strength of Supermen.”

The children ran up and gushed over their fathers’ victory. Sunghoon flexed his muscles, showing off to his wife and daughter.

“Did you see that, Haoh. You’re lucky to have such a strong dad, right?” Gary boasted to his son. Most of the fathers also indulged.

After they finished reveling in their victory, Nathan announced the final amount that they’d raised. “Incredible! 104,384,292,420 won. 4 billion over our goal. Thank you so much, Superman.”

“You’re welcome. Goodbye, everyone. I wish you all well.” Superman waved and soared up into the bright blue sky. The delighted crowd gave him one last burst of applause. 


End file.
